Editorial: McDonnell's lesson plan

Governor casts a wide net with his education agenda

let's hope catch is decent

January 09, 2012

Virginia school districts could free themselves from a decades-old law prohibiting the school year from beginning before Labor Day, if Gov. Bob McDonnell has his way.

One of many initiatives announced in Monday's gubernatorial agenda for K-12 education in the upcoming legislative session, the calendar flexibility given to local districts would allow school boards to decide whether students should receive additional instructional time in a given year.

The concept of a longer school year — in some cases, even year-round education — has become a growing trend nationwide, as states have attempted to improve continuity of instruction and decrease the so-called "spring slide" that occurs after long breaks. The syndrome especially affects students who do not receive enrichment over the summer, such as camps, reading opportunities and learning experiences. Weeks of instruction can be lost at the beginning of a school year simply by reviewing old concepts. A calendar that spreads out days of instruction over a longer period with shorter breaks in between — called a "balanced schedule" — has less repetition and can therefore lead to faster progress in core subjects.

While some argue a longer school year would cost more to administer, given the measurable economic costs resulting from a U.S. educational system that lags behind the rest of the world, any plan that would increase instruction time — including a longer school day — should be encouraged and pursued.

By making the school calendar a local option instead of a state mandate, the governor's proposal would allow individual school districts to decide what's best for the community of students and parents — and come up with ways to fund and administer it. But the local option could also make the reality of a longer school year more remote.

Gov. McDonnell is also proposing that teacher and principal contracts include a mandatory annual evaluation instead of every three years, replacing the current structure of continuing contracts that make it more difficult to address performance problems.

Most of the rest of the world operates on annual performance evaluations; why wouldn't we want those who teach our children to be evaluated every year? Annual feedback could also help teachers and principals who may not be aware of needed improvements. And moving toward a system that recognizes merit would also allow districts to attract and reward the best teachers — a move 17 other states have already made.

McDonnell also proposes that the current drawn-out system of contract grievances be streamlined to a three-tiered process with "aggressive timelines." Surely three steps ought to be sufficient to resolve a grievance, and it only makes sense to require that cases be concluded on a timely basis instead of dragged out so they affect more than one school year.

McDonnell's "wish list" for education is long, with a menu of ideas for strengthening academic opportunities and rigor, including duality with community colleges; accreditation requirements for virtual schools and alternative licensure requirements for virtual school teachers; tax credits for businesses that provide scholarships to low-income students; and additional funding for math and science education. While the proposals seem enticing, we're a little concerned that the mustard is being spread too thin to make a decent sandwich.

In the end, it will be up to local districts to fully implement major change, such as more teaching time and resources, less budgetary fat on non-instructional programs and more efficient consolidation of support services within localities.